Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

His outstanding performance in the All-Star Game made Kobe one of the top sports stars in the United States.

A player who can't even make the team, but has NBA first-class commercial value, is something that is unlikely to happen in any era.

However, such a thing really happened in 1998, to Kobe. It was truly unprecedented and unprecedented.

As a result, the Feiyue brand has rapidly expanded and entered major sporting goods stores in the United States.

The retail industry in the United States is developed. In addition to chain stores and specialty stores of big brands, the United States also has no shortage of specialized outdoor stores and sports goods stores.

In addition to mainstream sports brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma, many niche brands or miscellaneous brands can be found in sporting goods retailers.

Big first-line brands often cooperate with retailers to launch some exclusive or co-branded products.

The advantage of a developed retail industry is that a new product can be spread throughout the entire terminal sales channel in a very short time. In this regard, the United States at that time had an unparalleled advantage.

A sports star starting a sports brand is nothing new in the United States. Back then, Nike relied on Jordan's endorsement to successfully come back to life and successfully stood on the throne of the world's number one sports brand.

Today, Feiyue Sports seems to be replicating the path of Nike's rise.

Los Angeles, Great Western Forum, home of the Lakers.

Under the leadership of O'Neal, the Lakers successfully entered the playoffs. The first opponent they faced in the playoffs was the Trail Blazers, which was full of young people.

Since Drexler left, the Trail Blazers have entered a rebuilding period, and in just a few years, they have achieved results. By the 1998 season, the Trail Blazers had several lottery picks and strong players in their prime.

"Little Flying Squirrel" Stoudemire, who just joined the Trail Blazers, and Rasheed Wallace, who is getting better and better, form the "internal and external partners" of the Trail Blazers, and they seem to have unlimited potential.

In the front row of the auditorium, James Bond introduced the Lakers to Li Weidong.

"The facilities at the Great Western Forum are indeed a bit old, especially the damn air conditioning, which has never been better! I need a cold drink."

James Bond said, wiping the sweat from his head, and continued: "But Los Angeles has already begun construction of a new arena. It started in March and is expected to be completed next year. This will be the largest arena in the United States. !

According to internal sources, after the new arena is completed, the Lakers will also move their home court there. By then, the Lakers' commercial value will also be improved, which is also good for Kobe. "

Li Weidong nodded. What James Bond said was the Staples Center, the future home of the Lakers.

On the field, Kobe had just completed a mid-range shot, and the players he faced were not to be outdone and immediately responded in the next attack.

"The person facing Kobe is called Isiah Leder. He is the leading scorer of the Trail Blazers. He is very good at breaking through and scoring, and his mid-range shooting ability is also very good. It's just that this guy is a troublemaker!" James Bond introduced. .

Isaiah Lederer was also considered a first-line star in the NBA at the time, averaging 20 points per game. In 1994, he used a crotch-hand dunk to win the All-Star Game dunk title. This shows that his physical fitness is also very good.

Leder's career is not that long, mainly because he is full of misdeeds off the court, such as being late for training, absent without excuse, and missing the team's plane, which he did more than once or twice.

In addition to this, he spat at fans, attacked them, and even hid marijuana. This kind of player without professional ethics, even if he is talented and capable, will not stay in the NBA for long.

Today, Leder is still the backbone of the Trail Blazers, but his off-court troubles caused him to quickly lose the trust of the Trail Blazers management.

After the future Zen Master took over the Lakers, he once recruited Leder to the team, hoping that he could integrate into the triangle offensive system. However, this guy suddenly disappeared during the playoffs. Fortunately, the "ok combination" was powerful enough, so I didn't make any mistakes.

James Bond continued: "Kobe's progress is really obvious. Compared with last year's playoffs, he has matured a lot. He has fully adapted to the rhythm of the playoffs.

Now it seems that the prospects of the Lakers are also very good. O'Neal was originally the best center in the league. When Kobe grows up, the combination of these two will definitely be able to compete for the championship!

Boss, I really admire your vision now. When you offered a high school guard tens of millions of dollars in endorsements and exclusive sneakers, everyone thought you were crazy.

But now it seems that we have made a lot of money from this transaction. In just two years, Kobe, a young man, has become as popular as a star player. This is definitely the most successful endorsement contract in NBA history. "

Li Weidong smiled: "You are exaggerating. The most successful endorsement contract is between Nike and Jordan. In the NBA, Jordan's status is difficult to be surpassed. It would be great if we can be second."

Li Weidong paused and then said, "How is Tracy McGrady's condition?"

James Bond shook his head: "T-Mac's data last season was basically qualified and did not bring any amazing performance. But in terms of popularity, he is far inferior to Kobe at the same time. At least he can't become a star yet. potential."

Among the four major shooting guards, Tracy McGrady had the best performance in his rookie season.

Also as a high school guard, Tracy McGrady was inevitably compared to Kobe after entering the NBA.

In terms of skills and talent, rookie Tracy McGrady may be as good as rookie Kobe Bryant, but in terms of luck, Tracy McGrady is far behind.

Kobe's starting point in the NBA is Los Angeles, which is the second largest city in the United States. At the same time, Los Angeles also has a huge entertainment industry. The media spotlight always shines here, allowing Kobe to gain a lot of media attention.

Tracy McGrady started his career in Toronto, a cold Canadian city. Compared with Los Angeles, Toronto is simply a cold and barren place. Tracy McGrady naturally doesn't enjoy the kind of media exposure that Kobe does.

It is not a pleasant feeling for a high school student to come to a foreign country alone. It is for this reason that when his cousin Carter came to the Raptors, Tracy McGrady instantly became Carter's follower.

In his rookie season, Tracy McGrady took a relatively long time to adapt to the NBA. This suited him and he did not show that terrifying offensive talent. He was used more as a defensive leader.

In the middle and late stages of his career, Tracy McGrady was regarded by fans as a defensive vulnerability and was a leader in eye defense.

But during the Raptors and Magic era, Tracy McGrady's defense was definitely among the best in the league.

Tracy McGrady has excellent physical fitness, excellent height and wingspan, and he is not at a disadvantage even in the low post. Moreover, his defensive awareness is first-rate and his blocking ability is excellent. He can be regarded as a "defensive champion".

Among the four major shooting guards, only Tracy McGrady started his career on defense, while the other three all started on offense.

Teams like defensive players very much, but fans may not like them. At least in terms of popularity, they are far less popular than offensive players.

Therefore, many players with excellent defense can only rely on their hair to gain fans' attention. In the NBA, any hair style that is weird, fancy, and colorful often means that the player has excellent defensive ability.

Another manifestation of Tracy McGrady's bad luck is that the 1998 All-Star Game was shortened.

Due to labor disputes, the 1998 All-Star Game did not hold a dunk contest. You must know that the dunk contest is an excellent place for young athletes to express themselves. Back then, Kobe relied on the dunk contest to attract countless fans.

With Tracy McGrady's physical talent, if he can participate in the slam dunk contest, even if he doesn't win the championship, he can still attract a wave of fans and increase his popularity.

After the NBA labor dispute ended, Tracy McGrady went to participate in the dunk contest again and met his cousin Carter. In front of the strongest dunk contest champion in history, anyone would become a foil.

Compared with Kobe, Tracy McGrady was unknown in his rookie season. Although his statistics were similar to Kobe's, he was several notches behind in terms of popularity.

As far as Tracy McGrady's current development is concerned, Feiyue Sports' 10 million endorsement contract is obviously a loss.

James Bond roughly explained Tracy McGrady's situation. Although he did not say that the endorsement deal was a loss, the meaning was implicit in his words.

Li Weidong smiled nonchalantly: "I'm still very optimistic about Tracy McGrady. Give him some time, I believe he can fulfill his talent."

James Bond nodded, signing such a young rookie was like a gamble in itself.

In the fiercely competitive NBA, it is not a high probability for newcomers to succeed, so the probability of losing this kind of gamble is relatively high.

Of the two people currently signed by Feiyue Sports, Kobe has begun to reflect his commercial value, which is tantamount to winning the bet. If you win once in two bets, this result is already a bloody profit.

James Bond then asked: "Boss, are we going to continue the 'Millions of Boys' plan this year?"

"Of course we have to continue." Li Weidong nodded.

"But this year's rookie class, it seems there are no outstanding high school defenders." James Bond said.

For two consecutive years, high school defenders have been signed as spokespersons. James Bond instinctively thought that Li Weidong preferred high school defenders.

Li Weidong answered: "There should be excellent guards, right? Especially at the shooting guard position."

"It turns out that the boss prefers shooting guards!" James Bond nodded in realization, and then replied: "There must be shooting guards. Every year in the NBA draft, there is no shortage of outstanding shooting guards."

"How is the quality of this year's rookies?" Li Weidong asked again.

"The evaluation of this year's rookies in the media is relatively average. The quality of the rookies in 1995 and 1996 was very good, especially in 1996, which was the best rookie class in the past ten years. So the quality of the rookies in the past two years should be better. Not so much," Bond replied.

Li Weidong recalled it carefully. He remembered that 1998 was also a big year for the draft. Although it was not as good as 1996, many well-known players were still produced.

"Forget about other people, the number one target still has to be Carter." Thinking of this, Li Weidong said: "There is a young man named Vince Carter. I am very optimistic about him. If you have time, you can contact him. !”

Li Weidong has already signed two of the four major shooting guards. The next target is naturally the demigod Carter.

Moreover, Carter's basketball shoes have always been relatively easy to sell. Even some models that are ugly and uncomfortable to wear still have good sales.

At this time, Carter was already the top star in the NCAA.

Carter studied at the University of North Carolina, which is the top basketball school in the United States and the alma mater of Michael Jordan. Since Jordan was trained, North Carolina has been regarded as the first target by countless basketball talents.

The players who can become the core players in North Carolina are also NCAA stars and will be watched by countless scouts. It can be said that their future is limitless.

Before Carter, North Carolina's leading players were Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace. After entering the NBA, these two performed well and are still the main players of their respective teams.

Now, it is Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison who are raising the banner of North Carolina. These two people were called the "North Carolina Twin Stars" at the time.

Moreover, Carter during his college days was also hailed as Jordan's successor.

In the 1990s, the American media promoted many successors to Jordan. Anyone who was a shooting guard with a height of about 6 feet 6 inches, excellent strength, cool skills, and a good mid-range shooting ability would be said to be Jordan's successor.

In particular, players trained by North Carolina, Jordan's alma mater, are more likely to be dubbed "Jordan's successors."

North Carolina's last successor to Jordan was Stackhouse. He was 6 feet 6 inches tall and was North Carolina's shooting guard.

After Stackhouse entered the NBA, he did perform very well, but he was still far behind Jordan.

Moreover, this guy was a little ignorant. He once uttered arrogant words to his senior Jordan, but was taught a lesson by Jordan on the court. From then on, no one mentioned that he was Jordan's heir.

Vince Carter is also 6 feet 6 inches tall, plays the position of spiking guard, and is a product of North Carolina. Of course, he is also called the successor of Jordan.

After all, Carter is a college player. Unlike high school players, he has accumulated a lot of fame in the NCAA, so Li Weidong is not the only one who is eyeing Carter. Other sports brands are also very interested in Carter.

This includes major brands in the U.S. market such as Nike, Adidas, and Reebok, as well as Puma, which is eager to get a piece of the basketball shoe market.

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